Kate Leary, PhD
Assistant Professor of Hydrology
Earth & Environmental Science
- kate.leary@253000xa.com
- MSEC 304
- katepotterleary.com
Research Areas
- Surface processes
- Fluvial geomorphology
- Sediment transport
- Process sedimentology
About Kate
Kate is an Assistant Professor of Hydrology in Earth and Environmental Sciences at New Mexico Tech. Kate has a Ph.D. in Geology
from Arizona State University’s School of Earth and Space Exploration. In addition
to faculty life, Kate currently helps run AGU's Earth & Planetary Surface Processes social media feeds (twitter, instagram, and facebook). Check out our new twitter crowdsourcing advice initiative, #WisdomWednesday, and our virtual seminar series, EPSP Connects!
Kate's research focuses primarily on bedform kinematics in modern and ancient systems.
More broadly Kate enjoys experimental geomorphology, whereby the nitty-gritty details
of Earth’s surface processes (that are generally not observable on a field scale)
come to the forefront through analogue modeling and numerical computations. In addition
to experimental work, Kate has a couple field projects in collaboration with researchers
at the United States Geological Survey Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center in
Flagstaff, AZ. This research involves using spatially and temporally high-resolution
bed elevation data, collected using repeat multi-beam sonar surveys on the Colorado
River in Grand Canyon National Park, to elucidate details of bedload transport. With
this data, Kate and her colleagues seek to bring together the knowledge gained through
experimental investigations with big picture field observations.
Kate enjoys exploring the intersection of human life and geology and makes it a point
to include this intersection in the courses she designs and teaches. When Kate is
not in the lab or the office, she enjoys spending time in the mountains and canyons
around the Southwest or practicing and performing improv comedy. Kate is a proud member
of @500WomenScientists and @500QueerScientists.